‘Free to breathe’ – Foundation launches in Lagos to deepen asthma awareness, access to treatment

A new foundation focused on respiratory health awareness and access to treatment has been launched in Lagos in memory of the late Ojumitunrayo Onaara Olufade, whose family and associates say her death highlighted the urgent need for better awareness and support for asthma and other respiratory diseases in Nigeria.

The initiative, unveiled on Saturday as The Ojumitunrayo Onaara Olufade Foundation with “Free to Breathe” as its slogan, seeks to promote advocacy, provide medications and support vulnerable patients living with chronic respiratory conditions.

Speaking at the launch, Demilade Olufade, brother of the deceased, said the foundation was created in honour of his sister, who passed on last year as a result of asthma.

According to him, the organisation aims to deepen awareness around diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer, while also supporting access to treatment for patients who often struggle to afford medications.

“It’s quite critical that they have access to ventilators, inhalers, and medication that they need to ensure that they are able to live a quality life, given the challenges that they have,” he said.

Demilade added that the foundation plans to partner with primary healthcare centres to distribute medications and support respiratory disease patients.

Also speaking, Oyewale Odekhiran, deputy managing director of Mulberry Partners Limited and one of the promoters of the initiative, said the foundation was established to immortalise Olufade, who lived with asthma.
“We decided that what better way to immortalise her than setting up a foundation in her memory,” he said.

Odekhiran noted that although many Nigerians are familiar with asthma, public awareness about the condition remains poor.
“A lot of people do not really know much about the disease,” he said, adding that the foundation would focus on advocacy, public sensitisation and donations of respiratory drugs including inhalers.

He disclosed that the foundation intends to make May 16 an annual awareness event and would begin outreach immediately with visits to primary healthcare centres in Ikeja and Oregun to donate medications.

Adebola Shobowale, the foundation’s legal adviser, said the circumstances surrounding Olufade’s death may have been prevented with better awareness and emergency support systems.

“We feel that there was some kind of awareness and medical facilities that could have been made available in public places,” he said, noting that the foundation also intends to advocate for first-aid respiratory support facilities in public spaces.

Ayoola Olagunju, a respiratory physician at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, who attended the launch, described chronic respiratory diseases as one of the leading health challenges globally and in Nigeria.

“We have a high burden of chronic respiratory disease,” she said. “There is misinformation, there is poor access to treatment, which also worsens the burden.”

Explaining asthma, the pulmonologist said the condition causes inflamed and narrowed airways that make breathing difficult and can be triggered by dust, smoke and allergens.

“It’s a disease that is very treatable, and nobody should lose their life to asthma,” she said. “Asthma deaths are very preventable.”

Olagunju welcomed the foundation, saying it could help improve awareness, reduce stigma and expand access to medicines for patients.

The late Olufade studied at Bells University of Technology and University of Ibadan before building a career in marketing and corporate communications with companies including Noah’s Ark Communications and RedCloud Technology.